Hi folks,

Would have been great to attend the listening session at Tonläget.

Can you tell me more about the T1 upgrade, haven`t heard or seen much about it more than Anders once told me what he referred to "Big Foot" I thought he was talking about the anxient snowman but appearantly he wasn`t.

So is the new Gaio better than Slipsik in latest version?

/Magnus

magnuska wrote:Can you tell me more about the T1 upgrade, haven`t heard or seen much about it more than Anders once told me what he referred to "Big Foot" I thought he was talking about the anxient snowman but appearantly he wasn`t.

No, it wasn't the snowman, I have seen the bigfoot prototypes! But Anders wasn't happy with any of them, so for the time being they're back on the shelf. The upgrade (consisting of other things than the foot) will be announced in a month or two.

magnuska wrote:So is the new Gaio better than Slipsik in latest version?

In my opinion they are different but very close.

No, it wasn't the snowman, I have seen the bigfoot prototypes! But Anders wasn't happy with any of them, so for the time being they're back on the shelf. The upgrade (consisting of other things than the foot) will be announced in a month or two.

Thanks Fredrik,

Hi,
I've been using a new Gaio (n°001) to setup an LP12/Trampo/Hercules/AkitoII/Adikt. I did always used in the past Lejonklou Kinkies (in their various versions) to setup TTs with MM cartridges and really liked them.

But the Gaio is simply better. Unforunately I did not have any Kinki to directly compare (my last one was sold just some weeks ago) but from memory I feel the new one is more dynamik, rythmic, detailed and tuneful. More alive and simply more fun to listen to.

As much as I liked the old Kinki to my ears this is musically a good step forward and I quite love it.

Great job Fredrik!

Paolo

paolo wrote:As much as I liked the old Kinki to my ears this is musically a good step forward and I quite love it.

Great job Fredrik!

Thank you Paolo!

It's your Gaio on the picture here: http://www.lejonklou.com/?page=117

Apologies to everyone who've been asking for more pictures. I even posted an inside picture on my instagram account (search for lejonklou), but it's not high quality enough for a newsletter or the web. I will make a new attempt once this preamp prototype lets go of my mind for a second!

I'm seriously thinking of getting a Gaia on the 25th. Gonna have a little listen on Tuesday if LYD in Umeå has it instore then.

Bought one today. Sounds amazing, makes my LP12 sound sooo great. Thanks for a great job Fredrik.

Uhepcat wrote:Bought one today. Sounds amazing, makes my LP12 sound sooo great. Thanks for a great job Fredrik.

Thank you! Great to hear that, Uhepcat!

I am the proud owner of Fredriks wonder product Gaio. At first I was not that impressed with it, but over a period of two months it has opened up musically. Today it is more subtle, powerful and in time than when I first connected it. My LP12 is singing like never before.

I consider Gaio to be great value for money. Gaio is not shy in my system that consists of several Linn Klimax products. Although I suspect that Linn Uphorik is better, there is so much life in the music with Gaio that I don't lack anything from my Adikt cartridge. Gaio is a real deal.

Thanks Fredrik,

Best regards,

DocKrall

DocKrall wrote:I am the proud owner of Fredriks wonder product Gaio.
...

Thank you so much for the feedback, DocKrall!

Cognates!
A gorgeous product! I have it running now. First I connected it wrong because of the different colour code and my general aversion against instruction manuals.
I mixed up right and left and I thought: 'That’s different!'

morego wrote:Cognates!
A gorgeous product! I have it running now.

It sounds as if you like it? :)

I haven't posted my feelings on the Gaio yet and felt it was a bit overdue. I'll start out by just saying what a wonderful piece the Gaio is. Despite being relatively busy at work I have managed to work in a few sessions doing comparisons with the Gaio and I am very impressed. I have all three phono stages currently in the store fed by an original Majik LP12 (steel subchassis). After running the Gaio in for a while I did comparisons of all three a couple of times by myself and once with a customer who owns the Slipsik 5.1 with a Majik LP12/Radikal.

The Gaio is simply wonderful and exceptional value for the money. I am amazed at how much more musical it is than the Kinki 3. The first thing I noticed was the bass - much more tuneful and resolving with greater depth and power but sounding balanced and allowing bass playing to communicate much more clearly. It also carries the increased musicality up throughout the range so that vocals carry more emotional impact and high-frequency instruments like cymbals, triangles, etc. sound more natural. Along with this it is noticeably quieter. When doing the A/Bs I could hear the difference as soon as the stylus was lowered into the groove - the bass thump as the stylus hit the groove was deeper and more precise and the surface noise was a fair bit lower. What a great sounding piece. That this could be accomplished for only a little more than the Kinki 3 is testament to Fredrik's genius.

After comparing the Gaio to the Kinki 3 I had to wonder if the Slipsik 5.1 could still be any better. These comparisons show it indeed is. However, I have to say the Gaio is nipping at its heels. I think I would have to say that the Gaio has traveled about 3/4ths of the way from the Kinki 3 to the Slipsik 5.1. As mentioned, I feel this is quite an accomplishment. The Slipsik is certainly still better, more of the emotion of a piece of music is communicated, the bass is even a touch deeper and more resolute and there is yet more information coming out of the groove. There are musical touches that are more apparent on the Slipsik than on the Gaio. One I noticed was on a song by Holly Cole that started out mostly with just drums, acoustic bass and vocals. In the middle of the first verse a phrase was punctuated by a relatively quiet "chick" of the hi-hat. Every time I heard this on the Slipsik the "chick" sound was clear, obvious and natural sounding - perfectly in balance with the rest of the music, precisely timed and sounding very much like I know that instrument to sound (having owned a couple of sets of drums over the years) and it added a certain expressiveness to that part of the song. When I was listening to the Gaio I never noticed that 'chick" sound - even when I listened specifically for it somehow it passed by unnoticed although it was certainly there if I paid enough attention. This piece also starts with powerful acoustic bass where the end of the phrase has a bass note plucked and then the fretting finger slid up the fingerboard to make a lower note. The texture of that double note gives a good insight to the three different phono stages. On the Kinki 3 the note definitely goes lower but on the Gaio you really hear the texture of the finger sliding up the sting in a way that doesn't come across nearly as well on the Kinki 3. On the Slipsik 5.1 the texture is even a bit more palpable and the resonance of the body is easier to hear. Overall I feel the Slipsik still has a greater sense of ease, a better flow and allows the music to really touch your heart to a greater degree than the Gaio and to me would still be worth the extra money - especially with a highly spec'd LP12. But the Gaio is not far behind and I believe that it will be a big hit. Exceptional value for the money. Great job again Fredrik!

Here is a photo of the three phono stages side by side during testing.



This is how they were tested - on a Tor shelf with the LP12 on the Mimer on top. In order to further minimize any differences the phono stage being listened to was always placed on the right side in the position where the Gaio is in the photo. I was careful to keep the cables untangled as I changed units and the pair of phono stages being compared at any one time were plugged into the same duplex outlet.

The associated equipment was KK/1, Solos and Vienna Acoustics top model The Music speakers. All cables Linn.

I do like the smaller yet sharper logo on the Gaio. It somehow manages to be subtler yet more attention grabbing at the same time.

ThomasOK wrote: This is how they were tested - on a Tor shelf with the LP12 on the Mimer on top. In order to further minimize any differences the phono stage being listened to was always placed on the right side in the position where the Gaio is in the photo. I was careful to keep the cables untangled as I changed units and the pair of phono stages being compared at any one time were plugged into the same duplex outlet.

So different IC's, power cords and different positions in the distribution block?
I guess all these variations have been evaluated in a previous tests, correct?

I know, I'm obsessed with small details ;)

Music Lover wrote:

ThomasOK wrote: This is how they were tested - on a Tor shelf with the LP12 on the Mimer on top. In order to further minimize any differences the phono stage being listened to was always placed on the right side in the position where the Gaio is in the photo. I was careful to keep the cables untangled as I changed units and the pair of phono stages being compared at any one time were plugged into the same duplex outlet.

So different IC's, power cords and different positions in the distribution block?
I guess all these variations have been evaluated in a previous tests, correct?

I know, I'm obsessed with small details ;)

Interconnects were swapped from one unit to another so same Linn Silver interconnects going into same input on KK/1. Had to be different power cords as they are permanently attached! A distribution block was not used. The two units under test were plugged into the same US spec duplex wall outlet and the LP12 and the phono stage not currently under test were plugged into a second duplex outlet.

I'm obsessed with small details, too. :-)

I knew you had total control, splendid!

Your obsession on details makes me comfortable.

lejonklou wrote:Your obsession on details makes me comfortable.

The obsession makes me a little............(smiley if you didn't know)

The results make me very comfortable.

I am never fully relaxed when working, and never fully into the music when not relaxed. The pros are not the cons. Are the prose music?

Just having a wee bit o'fun before thanking those of you that do take the time and effort to achieve the results.

Thanks guys!

By the way I agree with Thomas on the look of the logo.

Looks really sharp. Well done.

I have some welcome news. Michael Fremer has had a Gaio for evaluation and it appears there will be a full review on his Analog Planet website before long. Whether this will also show up in Stereophile I am not sure. However he decided to give an advanced taste of his findings in his Analog Corner column in the latest (August) Stereophile which I just received this week. It is only a couple of mentions so you have to look for it. First off, in a test of a new $600 Sony turntable with a built in phono stage, which he felt was a good table, he mentioned trying it with two phono stages he had close by. One was a $18,000 tube unit from Greece which he didn't comment on. But then he said: "I also tried the superb yet reasonably priced Lejonklou Gaio ($895), soon to be reviewed on AnalogPalnet.com."

In a separate test of the $1695 GEM Dandy PolyTable he used an interesting setup: a Lyra Helicon SL cartridge that sold for $2500 when it was new, a $1250 Bob's Devices Sky CineMag step-up transformer and the $895 Lejonklou Gaio. He was quite pleased with the musical quality the combo was capable of. He commented: "I haven't yet played it ["Look,Stop and Listen" by Philly Joe Jones] on the big rig. I'm enjoying it too much through the PolyTable, Helicon SL, Sky CineMag and Gaio to care." There are a few more similar comments that you can read in the article which makes it obvious he quite liked the combination. Considering the Gaio is easily the least expensive of the parts of this setup I think it bodes well for the full review. I can't wait!

Wonderful news, thank you Thomas!

I am really looking forward to reading this review!

Hi,

I just a Gaio to replace an very old Gram Amp 1, I use a Rega Planet 3 with a Denon DL-110 (ok, but not really an high output MC). The DL-110 will probably be changed to an Ortofon MC Quintet in the near future (I got an step up which I used with an MC30 super back in the day).

The Gaio is way more detailed than the Gram Amp, but a lot more boomy, does that go away after it's run in periode, as I do like my music lean ...

Thanks,

Casper

I do not know but cannot believe that any of the Lejonklou's products should give you a boomy sound. It may well be that it reveals something else or that you have to re-position your speakers.

beck wrote:I do not know but cannot believe that any of the Lejonklou's products should give you a boomy sound. It may well be that it reveals something else or that you have to re-position your speakers.

Said in another way; more base than I like - and it's only with that input. I really like the mid, and treble, but the base is a bit heavy (boomy).

Which is why, I asked if the sound becomes more lean over time.